Statistics
by malcolm lake
Summary: A short AU based on the Story Incan Mummy Girl with Xander, Willow, Buffy, and Ampata
1. Chapter 1

Statistics

AU with Xander, Willow, Buffy and Ampata during Incan Mummy Girl

Disclaimer:

These aren't my characters.

In this AU, the gang discovers the death of Rodney Munson and picks up Ampata at the train station before talking about the dance. It's the next day, and Ampata has joined the gang at school.

Giles had asked Buffy if Ampata might be able to assist with the translation. The Slayer pleaded with her Watcher not to speak with the exchange student. The last thing Buffy wantedwas a painful scene where Ampata told Joyce about Sunnydale's nightlife. Giles had agreed, and was trying to find information at the university library.

That left Buffy alone in the Sunnydale High School Library. She sat back in one of the chairs, enjoying the quiet before going home. Despite the murder of Rodney Munson, the Slayer was having a good day. Buffy congratulated herself on her diplomatic skills with her Watcher. She had enjoyed a similar success with Xander earlier. The Slayer told her friend that she would tie him naked to the flagpole if he said anything about the Hellmouth to Ampata.

"Speak of the devil," Buffy thought, as she watched her best guy friend come into the library. No doubt he was coming to escort her to the Casa Summers. She got up and prepared to leave with the brunette.

"Hey Buff," Xander said, a little nervously. "Are you going to the dance?"

"Haven't we already had this conversation?" Buffy smirked.

Xander paled at her comment. "Okay, that was a little harsh," Buffy silently scolded herself. "Are you going?"

"Yeah," Xander said. "I've got my mom's car and I can play chauffer. I'm already taking Willow." He paused. "I mean, I'm taking Willow, not in the sense of 'Take Me.' If you come, there are three of us, if not…"

"It's datesville," Buffy replied. "Romance, flowers…"

"Lips," Xander added.

"Come on Xander," Buffy said as she sat on the table. "Don't tell me you never thought of Willow's lips."

Neither of them saw Willow walking into the library. When she heard Buffy's question, the young redhead hid behind the desk. It wasn't the most ethical thing to do, but she had been waiting for Xander's answer to that question for a very long time.

Willow couldn't see Xander's face from her position in the library. Buffy could. She could tell that her friend was in pain.

Xander finally spoke. "Willow is my best friend," he began.

Willow sighed, ready to hear once again how Xander didn't see her as girl friend material. How she wasn't like Buffy.

"And I've loved her since the moment I first saw her," the teen continued. Willow's gasp was, fortunately, drowned out by the Slayer's.

"But it would never work," Xander concluded with a sigh. "I know, he told me."

"Who told you," Buffy asked. "Giles?"

"No, Willow's dad," Xander answered.

"I don't understand." Buffy said.

Xander looked around. Satisfied that the library was empty except for him and Buffy, he slumped into a chair and turned to his blonde friend. "Okay, Willow had hinted, very strongly I might add, that her parents would let her date when she turned fourteen. So, one week before her birthday, I had Jesse ask for her to come to his place and help him with his math homework. I put on my clip-on tie and my thrift store, polyester blue blazer with the gold buttons. I called Willow's dad and said that I wanted to see him."

Buffy sat beside Xander and smiled at the image of the young man walking to Willow's house with his knees knocking. Willow was just confused.

"Mr. Rosenberg asked me to come into the living room, and I told him that I wanted to date his daughter. I thought he might be mad, yell or something, but he was very calm. He thanked me for asking him first, and he pulled out this manila folder. There were journal articles in it. He said that he liked me and he thanked me for being friends with Willow for all these years, but that he didn't think that anything would work out between me and her.

"He said that Willow would most likely get an advanced degree, and that I was probably not going to college. I had to agree. He pulled out this paper. It said that over 70 percent of marriages where the wife had a PhD and the husband hadn't attended college ended in divorce. With our different educations, I wouldn't be able to communicate with her."

Buffy interrupted, "Xander, there will never be a day when you can't talk to Willow. That's ridiculous."

Xander shook his head, "That's now. It'll be different one day. But that's not the only article he had." Xander looked away from Buffy and he continued in a monotone. She could tell that he was playing the scene over again in his mind. "One showed that households where the husband earned much less than the wife were 2.5 times more likely to divorce. Another said the sons of alcoholics were three times more likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol than the rest of the population. Then he showed me a paper that said men who were physically or sexually abused in childhood were six times more likely to abuse their families."

Buffy was shocked by Xander's revelation. She reached out and touched the teen's hand. Xander's eyes went wide as he realized what he'd just told her. Meanwhile, Willow felt like she was about to get sick.

Xander got out of his chair. "I can't do that to Willow. I won't do it," he said as he ran out of the library. Buffy started after him, but heard a gagging noise and turned around. She saw Willow throwing up. It wasn't a conscious decision on her part, but she knew that she could help her best friend. She had no idea what to do to help Xander. She walked over to Willow and took her to the bathroom.

Ampata walked through the athletic field, enjoying the feel of sun and wind. She was in the world again! She had just spent a glorious day being a teenager. Buffy had helped her put on makeup before school. She had enjoyed lunch with Buffy, Willow, and Xander. They had all been so nice to her. Willow seemed a little concerned about the way Xander looked at the princess, but she was still concerned that the newcomer had found her classes and was able to keep up.

The young princess had enjoyed the food, even if it was all strange to her. Xander had told her stories about Buffy and Willow. Buffy had looked a little nervous as the young man talked, and it appeared that the blonde girl kicked Xander during one of the stories. Ampata laughed at the memory.

As for Xander, while she enjoyed the attention he was giving her, Ampata knew that a boyfriend was the last thing that she needed. She just wanted to have friends, stay far away from museums, and enjoy the wonders this century provided. It was so different from the world of her youth. Everyone in Sunnydale lived liked a king. You bought food from a shop with no need to make sacrifices to ensure a bountiful harvest. It was very civilized. Here she could be free from doubt, free from fear.

As she walked behind the grandstand, a large Incan warrior appeared before her. He was much taller than her and carried a blade. Before he could react, however, she had thrown him to the ground and forced her lips to his. She pulled the life force from his body, leaving a dusty husk. The act sickened her, but it was the only way she could maintain her existence. Unless someone willingly gave their life to her, she would be forced to kill, again and again. This was the curse that now haunted her. How could someone like her be able to have nice, normal friends like Buffy, Willow, and Xander?

Knowing what she had to do, Ampata hid the body and walked back into the school. She remembered Xander mentioning that the gang usually met in the library after classes. Before joining her new acquaintances, Ampata went into the bathroom to wash the dust off her face. The princess saw Willow and Buffy crying and came over to see if she could help. "What's wrong," she asked.

Buffy immediately closed herself off. She didn't like letting strangers see her upset, even if they were nice girls like Ampata. "Nothing," the blonde said.

Willow was less able to hide her emotions. She continued to cry. Ampata and Buffy tried to comfort the young redhead. "It's Xander," Willow sobbed. "He loves me."

"And that makes you sad?" Ampata asked, puzzled."

"No!" Willow managed. "It's just that all this time I thought he didn't love me, but he did, but he thinks he can't because of what my dumb dad said to him, and he doesn't know that statistics aren't the best predictors of individual behavior because he was out that day with a concussion and now he probably hates me."

Buffy saw the utterly confused look on Ampata's face and said, "You're in the middle of a textbook Willow babble. All you can do is wait for the breath, and then she'll start over again, slower. Only Xander can translate in midstream."

The explanation made the princess feel a little better.

At the mention of Xander's name, Willow was finally able to take a breath. "It's Xander. I'm afraid he asked my dad something a long time ago and the answer hurt him really badly. We just found out about it, and now I don't know what to do."

"Can't you just talk to him, Will?" Buffy asked. Now that Ampata knew, Buffy wanted to come up with a plan of action.

"I don't think so. He has it in his head that if we were together he would hurt me. I know him. He'd rather die than hurt someone he cares about."

Buffy tried to ask Willow a question. "Will, if your dad knew about, I mean if he knew about the…"

"Why didn't he say something?" Willow interrupted. "It sounds just like my dad. He probably couldn't prove it, so he never said anything or reported it. He just threw it out and let Xander verify it. But what really kills me is that he used it against Xander."

"Did you know that he had been…?" Buffy couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence.

"I knew Xander was bruised a lot. I just thought that it was a guy thing. There were nights that he didn't want to go home. Sometimes he snuck into my room at night and slept beside my bed. I should have been able to see it. But I didn't. I just couldn't imagine anyone doing something like that."

"I wish I could help," Ampata said. "Xander is so nice; it pains me to think that he was hurt by his family. That's the ultimate betrayal." It reminded her of how her own parents had abandoned her to the gods.

"It's not just that," Willow said. "Until that time, Xander wasn't really that bad of a student. I mean, he made Bs and Cs, but he could keep up and everything. It was about that time that he just stopped caring. My dad did that to him. He took away Xander's hope." She began to feel sick again. Ampata tried to console the young woman. She gently moved her hand along Willow's back, trying to relax her.

Something suddenly occurred to Buffy. "Do you think that's why he's always throwing himself into fights and everything?" Buffy was careful not to mention vampires around Ampata.

"Maybe so," Willow agreed. "It's like he almost wants to die because he doesn't feel that he's worth anything."

"How could that be?" Ampata asked. "Surely he know how much he means to you both," Ampata said.

Willow looked away.

Buffy started to feel very guilty about a recent dance she gave to young Mr. Harris. "I really haven't done much recently to make him feel good about himself."

Willow immediately went into friend support mode. "Buffy, you've got a lot on your mind, with, well, everything. You can be forgiven for a little slip up now and then."

But the Slayer was not a person who took the easy way out. "Willow, he saved my life and I used him to make Angel jealous. That's not a little slip." Buffy looked over at Ampata and shrugged, "Long story. Look, it's going to be dark soon. We can't let Xander wander around Sunnydale at night, alone. In the state of mind he's in, he might not event try to fight if…"

Willow began to panic. "Okay, I think I know where he would go. Sometimes when I was getting picked on or Xander's folks were on a bender we would go out to Kingman's Bluff." She pulled away from Ampata, grabbed a paper towel, and began to dry her eyes.

"That would make you feel better?" Ampata asked.

"Actually, no. We normally felt worse afterwards. We just kinda ended up there. It's weird."

"Is there anywhere else that he could be?" Buffy asked.

"He could have gone home." Willow replied.

"Okay," Buffy said. You go up to Kingman's Bluff while I swing by his house. I'd like to have a word with Xander's folks." She walked out of the bathroom with the other two girls close behind her.

"Don't, Buffy," Willow said. "Don't start anything today." She grabbed the blondes elbow and turned her around in the hall.

Buffy finally nodded her head. "Okay, I'll be silent Buffy this time. Maybe we could get Xander to talk to my mom. She's really good about the big things. She'll help."

Willow agreed. "Xander likes your mom. I think he would trust her enough to talk about this."

"I'll go by his house then meet you at Kingman's Bluff. If he's there, I'll walk you both home. If not, we'll try to find him.

"I'll go with Willow," Ampata said. "I'll keep an eye on her until you arrive."

Neither Buffy nor Willow knew how to ask Ampata to leave without going into the whole Hellmouth thing, so they agreed with the exchange student.

Buffy said to Willow, "Thanks for bringing my back pack. Here's yours." Buffy stepped in front of Ampata and handed the redhead her book bag, which contained stakes and holy water. She mouthed the word "weapons" to Willow as she handed over the bag.

Willow quickly figured out what Buffy was up to, and they exchanged back packs.

Xander shivered as the cool sea breeze blew in. He hardly noticed the beautiful sunset taking place over the Pacific Ocean. "Why do I come here?" he wondered. "It never seems to help, and now I'm cold." This was the first time Xander had visited Kingman's Bluff without Willow. He didn't know how dangerous this place could be.

As he looked out over the ledge, it was almost like he could hear the wind and waves call to him. It was strange. Most places along the coast, he never thought about taking a flying leap into the next realm. But when he was here, he almost always did. Xander knew from reading the papers that each year four or five people jumped off the cliffs here. Most of the bodies were never found.

"Hey Xand," Willow said softly as she came up behind him.

Xander didn't turn around. He kept watching the horizon.

"Buffy asked if you wanted to go over to her house, maybe have some pizza…, watch some videos…, maybe talk to her mom about things."

Xander turned around, "What did Buffy tell you?" He asked, nervously.

Willow looked away. "Buffy didn't say anything. I kinda walked in on your conversation. Sorry I didn't speak up." The redhead dropped Buffy's book bag to the ground.

Xander looked at her and Ampata. "God, Willow, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I didn't blame Ira or anything. He was just telling it to me for my own good. I understand that."

Now Willow was getting angry. "Dammit Xander," she said, shocking the teen. "He wasn't telling you anything for your own good. He was simply being a callous, lazy parent who couldn't be bothered to deal with the problems of his daughter's best friend. He knew you loved me too much to ever risk hurting me, so he played on that fear so he wouldn't have to worry about me dating anyone."

"But he was right. He had articles and stuff."

"Xander Lavelle Harris!" Her oldest friend flinched at the name. Willow had forgotten all about Ampata standing behind here. She couldn't see the young woman licking her lips as the moisture left her body. "How many times have you risked your life to save me? How often have you taken on Cordelia or Harmony or some teacher who was trying to be mean to me? Do you really think, whatever some stupid article says, that you would ever hurt me? If you do, you really are a big dummy."

Xander didn't know what to say. He had tried so hard to do the right thing, but it seemed that he had managed to mess up somehow.

Ampata had been so caught up in the scene in front of her, that she hadn't noticed her skin drying. She caught a glance at her hands and noticed that they had become wrinkled. She realized that she desperately needed an infusion of human life force, and the only options were Willow and Xander.

The princess liked both of the youngsters. She knew that had things been different, these people could have been her friends. But now she had no choice. Then it occurred to her that there was a chance that she could come to an agreement with the young man.

Ampata grabbed Willow and pulled the redhead to her side. "Xander," she said. "Do you remember how Rodney Munson died? How he was turned into a dried out corpse? I did that. I had to. I drank his life so that I could escape. I am stronger than you, and I can take Willow before you can do anything about it."

Xander faced the princess with his fists clenched. "If you harm Willow, I'll find a way to kill you."

Ampata hated to do this, but it was the only way. "Xander, you can't stop me. That is, unless you are willing to help me." Willow struggled beside the young woman, but could not escape her grip. She tried to reach out with her leg and pick up Buffy's back pack, but it was too far away.

"What do you want?" Xander asked.

"I was in the coffin before Rodney let me out. Priests put me in there as an offering hundreds of years ago. Since I've escaped, I must drain the life force of humans to continue living. The only way I can be free is to drain someone who gives their life willingly to me."

"Why would I do that?"

"Because, if you give me your life. I will become human again. I wouldn't be able to harm Willow. I would never have to kill anyone again. You could set me free."

Willow looked into Xander's eyes, and she knew that he would sacrifice himself for her. She would lose her soul mate on this godforsaken cliff. She felt like her future was dying before her eyes.

Ampata could tell Xander's decision as well. She smiled as he started to walk towards them.

"It won't work, Ampata." Willow said with a grim, cold voice.

"And why not," the princess replied turning to her captive.

"Because if you kill Xander and manage become normal, I'll kill you," Willow spat through clenched teeth. "It doesn't matter if I have to go over the edge of that cliff with you. You will die if you harm him. I can't live without him."

Ampata was so surprised by Willow's ferocity that she loosened her grip on the redhead. Willow jerked free and ran over to Xander, burying her face in his chest and holding him as tightly as she could.

Xander held onto Willow as he glared at Ampata.

The princess had nowhere to go. She didn't have time to find another victim. She had the strength to kill them both, easily, but how could she do that to two people who had offered her friendhsip? She couldn't bear living if this was the price. Before she really thought about it, she was running towards the cliff. As she jumped over the side, her body exploded into dust, and an old goddess fed on her soul.

Xander and Willow held each other for a long time. Buffy found them and asked where Ampata was. Willow waved her arm in a vague, westerly direction. Eventually Buffy got the story from Xander.

The group was silent as they walked in the twilight towards Buffy's house. They knew that there were big, important conversations in their future, but this wasn't the time for them. Finally, Willow took her oldest friend's arm and said, "Okay, Xander. There's one thing you need to understand. As Mark Twain said, there are lies, damnable lies, and statistics…."


	2. Chapter 2

_I hadn't thought that there was anything else to say about this one, but it turns out I was wrong. Hope you like the finale_. - ml

Chapter 2

Willow tried to explain the concept of statistics to Xander as the redhead and her two best friends walked to Buffy's house.

"Okay, forget standard deviation and median," Willow said. She was realizing that she had to tailor her explanation to her audience. Plus, she was getting tired of the blank stares Buffy and Xander were giving her.

"Do you have a quarter?" She asked Xander, who reached into his pockets and found one.

"Now, if I were to flip this coin, what are the odds it will land heads up?" Willow asked.

"Fifty-fifty," Buffy replied. Xander nodded.

"What if I flip this coin like a hundred times and it lands heads up each time…"

"We would know that you had a two-headed coin," Xander replied.

Willow gave her best friend a glare. "As I was saying, if I flipped the coin and it came up heads each time. On the one hundred and first toss, what would be the odds that this particular toss would land heads up?"

"It would still be fifty-fifty, wouldn't it," Buffy answered.

"Right," Willow said. Now she was getting somewhere.

Xander wasn't so sure. "So, you're saying I'm like the quarter. That it's still a coin toss as to how I'm going to turn out?"

"No, what I'm saying is that while statistics may say you're more likely to do something, they don't mean you have to do something. If seven out of ten people make a bad decision, that still means that three people made a good one. How you turn out is up to you. Xander, you've lived your whole life so that you wouldn't become your dad. Do you really think that you'll turn out like him?" Willow realized that was the big question.

Xander hung his head. "I know that I don't want to, I mean who makes it their goal in life to turn into an abusive drunk? But it's not like I'm going to have a lot of options. I'm not good at school, or much of anything else. What if it's just a matter of time until I turn into him?"

Buffy remembered Ampata's words to her earlier that day. The mummy girl had asked the Slayer, "Surely Xander knows how much he means to you?" Buffy had been ashamed that she never told Xander the difference he made in her life.

Buffy stopped and pulled Xander to a halt by a stone wall outside the Shady Hill Cemetery. "Xander, maybe I haven't been the best friend. You say that you aren't good at anything. You saved me when I fought the Master. You saw what was happening in Sunnydale and you were willing to risk your life. I thought you knew that only a special person would do that. You can't even vote yet and you've helped close the mouth of hell. Pardon me for saying this, but if you think you're nothing, I gotta say that you're kinda dense."

That earned Buffy a half-smile from Xander.

"I love you, Xander. You keep me grounded." She pulled Xander's head down and kissed his cheek. "I should have told you sooner."

Both Buffy and Xander had tears running down their cheeks as they stood by the stone wall.

Now it was Willow's turn to talk to her oldest friend. She began to speak slowly and softly. "I spent a lot of time over the last year hoping that you would tell me that you loved me. I never thought you needed to hear me say that I loved you. To tell you that I noticed the difference that you made in my life. So I'm telling you now, Xander Harris. I love you. Sorry it took so long for me to say it."

"I love you both so much," Xander said. "But I don't deserve either of you. You're both so above anything I should be able to reach for." He forced his tears to stop and started walking again.

Buffy and Willow shared a quick glance. They could tell that Xander was shutting off his emotions. Willow had seen this happen a hundred times before, but she hadn't known the reason. Both girls knew that it was going to take time to convince their best friend that he wasn't worthless.

Buffy took the lead as they walked to the Summers' house. As the Slayer entered her home she shouted, "Mom, I'm home. Willow and Xander are with me."

Joyce Summers came into the living room to greet the children. "Where's Ampata? "

Buffy had forgotten about the mummy girl. "Umm, she got homesick at school today and decided to go home."

"Oh dear, was it something that happened in school?"

"It just seemed to be too much for her and she kinda fell to pieces." Willow had explained to the Slayer what happened. In a way, she felt empathy for the teenager who had to give her life to ensure bountiful harvests. She felt that her own teenage years were being sacrificed so that she could keep humanity safe.

"Did she get her luggage before she left?" Joyce asked.

Buffy nodded. One more thing she would have to find a way to get rid of later.

Joyce noticed how sad the children all looked. Her instincts told her that this was something more than a group of teenagers missing an exchange student. "What else is wrong?" She asked, hesitantly.

"Mom, can we talk, upstairs, for a minute?" Buffy requested.

"No," Joyce thought, "this isn't good at all." She went through her mental checklist as she followed Buffy. There had been no calls from the school, so it wasn't likely that her darling daughter had once again played 'Firestarter' in the school gym. No calls from angry parents or police. No calls from her ex-husband, not that she was ever expecting that to happen again. Not after the wonderful hearing on child support they went through after Buffy came back last summer. None of the teens were bloodied. "Okay, most likely personal. Maybe not even something to do with Buffy. Could something have happened to Willow? No, that wasn't how it felt. Xander."

Buffy went into Joyce's bedroom and shut the door once her mother was inside. "It's Xander." Mrs. Summers mentally congratulated herself. "Chalk up one up to parenting experience," she thought. After all, when raising a teenage daughter, one had to enjoy even minor flashes of insight.

"Mom?"

"Sorry, honey. What's wrong?"

The only way Buffy could get through this was to be blunt. "Rip off the Band-Aid," she thought. "Xander's dad is abusing him. It's been going on for a long time. It's convinced him that he's worthless and that he'll end up hurting the people he loves. Willow and I don't know what to do." Buffy sat on her mother's bed as she finished.

Joyce had to say that she wasn't surprised. She had never wanted to repeat her lone encounter with Tony Harris. It had been at the hospital after Xander had been beaten up by some gang members on PCP. The elder Harris had been annoyed at having to come to the hospital, and then had tried to hit on Joyce.

Buffy looked up at her mother, looking small and confused. "Willow says that Xander used to come over to her house in the middle of the night and sleep beside her bed. He was always bruised. She didn't know; I mean who does that to their child? Her dad figured it out, but he just used it to keep Xander from asking her out…He gave Xander papers that showed how abused kids get into abusive relationships later in life… But her dad didn't do anything to stop the beatings… Can you help?"

Joyce sat beside her daughter and drew her into a hug. "Please, you've gotta help," Buffy pleaded as she started to cry.

Through her own tears, Joyce felt pride over the strength of Buffy's compassion for her friend. Her daughter may not be the best student, but she was a good person with a good heart. That was all a parent could ask of their child. "We'll figure something out," she whispered to her daughter.

She drew back and composed herself. "First things first. We need do get you guys something to eat. Then we'll talk to Xander after dinner. He can stay here tonight if it's okay with you."

Buffy smiled at her mom and nodded.

"I'm sorry, but we'll probably have to go to the police in the morning to report this. Then there will be lawyers and it probably won't be very pleasant. We'll probably have to talk to Willow's father, too. But Xander's dad will never hit him again. I promise you."

Buffy hugged Joyce again. Sometimes, the Slayer thought, she didn't always remember how wonderful her mom was. "Thank you," she managed to say.

"Any time," Joyce answered. "Now, are you ready to go downstairs?"

"Let me clean up for a second," Buffy answered. "I think my makeup is kinda messed up. I probably have raccoon eyes."

Buffy washed her face and went into her room to change her top. She saw Ampata's trunk. After breaking the lock and taking a quick peak inside, she knew she would have to deal with this later tonight. Since it was dark, she pushed the trunk through the window and onto the roof before rejoining her mother.

When Buffy was ready, they went downstairs to find Willow and Xander sitting silently on the couch. Buffy could tell that Willow was in extreme guilt mode, and Xander was feeling awful for causing so much trouble. She came up to them behind the couch and put her hands on the shoulders of her friends.

Joyce decided that at least a portion of the talk had to come before dinner. She sat in the recliner and addressed the teens. "Buffy had told me what happened. It's really important that neither of you blame yourself for any of this. We're going to help each other through this, you have to believe me." Xander and Willow both nodded.

"Okay. Xander, I want you to stay here tonight." As Joyce expected, the teen tried to protest. "There is no use arguing. We all care about you and you need to be safe. So either you stay here, or Buffy, Willow, and I will go home with you." As soon as the words left her mouth, she was aware that sentence could have been taken a number of ways. Fortunately, none of the teens smirked. That in itself convinced Joyce about the seriousness of the problem.

"Are you hungry?" Joyce asked Xander, who nodded.

"I've already got some things started in the kitchen, it'll only take a minute to add some things for you and Willow.

Willow asked Mrs. Summers, "Can I help?" Joyce nodded. The two of them entered the kitchen as Xander and Buffy stayed in the living room.

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When Willow and Joyce were in the kitchen, the redhead said, "I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive my dad. He had to know what Xander meant to me. How could he know that Xander was being abused and do nothing to stop it."

Joyce shook her head. "I don't know. I could think of a hundred reasons why he might keep from reporting it, but you won't know unless you ask him. I know he disappointed you and he let Xander continue to be hurt. You'll have to decide if you'll forgive him or not."

"Ms. Summers…Joyce. Would it be better for Xander if he went away? Started someplace new?"

Joyce cast a sad smile at the young woman. It was a brave, compassionate question. "Part of me thinks all of you should leave Sunnydale. It's such a strange town." Willow smiled at the thought that Joyce was far more accurate in her statement than she realized. "But even though Xander has been through a terrible ordeal, he's still one of the kindest young men I've ever met. I think a lot of the credit for that goes to you."

Joyce continued. "I've seen Xander come around to see Buffy when you're not here, and it's like part of him is missing. I've noticed how often he touches you, little, reassuring hugs, leaning against you, touching your hair. And I've seen how often you touch him. Although I know your parents love you, they aren't very nurturing. The way that the two of you found each other, the way you complete each other. It amazes me."

Willow sighed with relief. She had to ask Joyce if Xander should leave. She was reassured by the woman's response. "I'll go see what the guys want to drink."

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Buffy tried once again to get through to her guy friend. She sat beside him on the couch and took his hand. "Xander, I can't imagine what you've been through, but you've got to believe me when I say that whatever your parents have told you, you've already made a difference in a lot of people's lives. You've made things better."

"I hear what you're saying, Buff, but you aren't the voice in my head. I constantly hear my dad telling me that I'm stupid, I'm worthless, I ruined his life. No matter what I do, I'll never be able to run away from that. I'll always know that to him I'm a disappointment."

An odd thought suddenly struck Buffy, something she had heard as her two friends were playfully bickering one day. "Xander, who taught you to read?"

"Willow."

"Who taught you to make waffles?"

"You know that story, Buffy. Willow taught me. The Rosenberg's still have the stain on the ceiling."

"Who in this world do you love the most?"

Xander looked down towards the carpet. "You know I love Willow more than anything."

"Does she love you?"

Xander didn't say anything.

"Xander, she just said that she did." He nodded. Buffy hoped the noise she heard outside wasn't coming from the roof.

"Xander, the most important person in your life loves you. She thinks you're great. So there's no way you're a failure."

Xander smiled. "I hadn't thought of it that way." He looked into the eyes of his blonde friend. "Buffy, I have to ask you something. I want to ask you as Willow's friend, not as mine." The Slayer nodded. "Would it be good for Willow if I dated her?"

Buffy was able to answer without hesitation, "You two love each other more than any couple I've ever met. You know more about each other than people who've been married for decades. You would face down a demon for her. Yeah, you're good for her."

"What if I mess up?"

"Then you'll work to make it better. Everybody messes up, even Willow."

"Will you tell me if I do something stupid?"

"I think I can pretty much guarantee that."

The two of them hugged on the couch. Xander knew that he had a long way to go before he could undo what the people he lived with had done for him, but for the first time in years, he felt some hope.

Willow walked into the living room and saw her two best friends in an embrace. On any other day she would have been jealous, but tonight she just happy that Buffy had been able to reach Xander.

The two teens looked up at Willow. They broke their hug and Xander walked to Willow. "Thank you," he said to his friend. He took the redhead in his arms. "I hope you know how much you mean to me. Sometimes I feel like you made me out from castoff clothes and twinkie wrappers. All I want to do is make you happy; make you proud of me."

Willow relaxed in Xander's arms. "Well, if you're trying to make me happy, this is a pretty good start."

Buffy got up and walked to the window. After taking a look outside, she came up to the pair and whispered. "I know this isn't the best time to mention this, but Ampata left a trunk here at my place. After I washed my face, I checked it out. There was a dried up body in it. It now looks like the body has broken out of the trunk and it's walking through the neighborhood. Any ideas?"

Both of the Slayers best friends turned to her and said, simply, "Call Giles."

"Works for me." Buffy said.

The end.


End file.
